The martial style combinations table
(Table 69) on page 102 of the AD&D <add yin-yang to T69>
Oriental Adventures is a fine and easy way
to come up with original martial-arts styles
for the Dungeon Master's campaign, but it
has its flaws. Without proper guidance, a
novice DM may create martial-arts styles
that are too weak or, worse yet, too powerful.
The table also lacks any way to
create a powerful offensive style like
karate, with its three attacks per round.

To help the DM create novel martial-arts
styles, the following guide table (Table 1) is
presented. There are eight possible offensive combinations linking a base number
of attacks with a base damage. The combinations are ranked from most to least
powerful on offense. There are two possible combinations that link three attacks
per round with a base 1d6 or 1d4 hp
damage, which are offensive combinations
not possible to generate using Table 69.
The second column also shows the maximum possible damage that can be done
per round by the martial artist.

The maximum number of special maneuvers in the style is given in the fifth
column. Most combinations may carry up
to 11 special maneuvers, while the more
powerful combinations on offense have a
lesser maximum. Generally, the more
maneuvers a style has, the lower its highest difficulty-rank maneuver. Kung-fu and
tae kwan do, on page 101 of  Oriental
Adventures,  each has one difficulty rank 5
maneuver, while jujutsu, with its 11
maneuvers, has no special maneuver more
difficult than Throw 4. Thus, the DM
should avoid maximizing both difficulty
rank and number of maneuvers for the
same martial-arts style.

To balance the number of special maneuvers in a style with its difficulty ranks, the
last column introduces the idea of ?rank
points,? where the difficulty ranks for all
the maneuvers in the style are added
together. For example, karate has 1 + 2 +
3+1+1+1= 9 rank points, or just under
the recommended 10 rank-point maximum
for this powerful martial style. Jujutsu has
a total of 23 rank points, just under the
suggested 24 rank-point limit. Similarly,
kung-fu is not too powerful with 20 rank
points.

Tae kwan do seems underpowered with
just an AC 8 and only 16 rank points. The
style could do with one or two more special maneuvers, such as Strike 2 or 3, to
make it stronger. A revised version of tae
kwan do may look like this:

    Kick 1,2,3
    Strike 1,2,3
    Throw 3
    Movement 5

Table 1
Martial-Arts Guide Table 
Offense                                      Defense                       Special maneuvers

No. of attacks	Damage (max./round)	Best AC	Highest difficulty rank	Maximuim no. of maneuvers	Maxiumum no. of rank points
3/1	1-6 (18)	8	3	6	10
2/1	1-8 (16)	7	4	7	12
3/1	1-4 (12)	6	5	9	18
2/1	1-6 (12)	6	5	11	24
1/1	1-8 (8)	6	5	11	26
2/1	1-4 (8)	6	7	11	28
1/1	1-6 (6)	5	7	11	30
1/1	1-4 (4)	5	7	11	32

Table 2
Example of a New Martial-arts Style

-	No. of attacks	Damage	AC	Principle attack	Special maneuvers
Example style	3/1	1-4	7	Hand	Vital 1,2,3. Movement 1,3. Push 2. Lock 3 . Mental 1, 2.

The guide table presented herein is not
intended to replace Table 69; it is meant to
augment it. Table 69 should still be used to
create the foundation of a martial-arts
style. When rolling up the number of
special maneuvers in a style, the DM could
instead roll for 1-4 special maneuvers
outside the principle method of the style,
but the total number of maneuvers in the
style still cannot exceed 11. When the style
is finally created, the DM can compare the
new style to the figures in the guide table
to see if the new style is underpowered or
o v e r p o w e r e d .

An underpowered style can often benefit from a slightly better armor class or
one or two more special maneuvers. Sometimes, however, the DM may wish to intentionally create an underpowered style that
is quick for characters to learn and serves
a specific function, rather than providing
an all-purpose self-defense system. 
special maneuvers. A style that attains the
maximum in three or all four categories
will likely be overpowered, and a style
that exceeds the maximum in any category
by a great degree is definitely unbalanced
for any reasonable campaign.

Some martial styles created by Table 69
may be overruled by the guide table as
being too powerful. For instance, it is
possible to create a hard/soft vital area
style with 2/1 attacks, a base 1d8 hp damage, and an AC 6. Still, such a combination
is too powerful and will rapidly overshadow other styles in the campaign.

Optionally, the DM may choose to start
with the guide table in creating a new
style. The DM first decides on the principle method and hardness or softness of
the style, then picks a proper offensive
combination from the guide table and
builds up the style. An advantage with this
method is that the table provides for two
offensive combinations not allowed by
Table 69. The combination of 3/1 attacks
and a base 1d6 hp damage is definitely a
hard style with a low armor class, and it
should have few special maneuvers, as
w i t h   k a r a t e   o n   p a g e   1 0 1   o f   Oriental
Adventures.  The combination of 3/1
attacks and 1d4 hp damage is a hard/soft
style that may carry a better armor class
and more advanced special maneuvers.
This combination creates fast, exciting
styles that aren?t too hard-hitting.

For example, let?s start with the offensive combination of 3/1 attacks and 1d4 hp
damage to create a hard/soft vital-area
style. We?ll limit the style to AC 7 and build
up the special maneuvers toward the
maximums in the number of maneuvers
and number of rank points. This style has
nine special maneuvers for 18 rank points,
which fits in fairly well with the maximums set. This new style is shown in
Table 2.

By keeping the martial-arts styles of a
campaign world within reasonable limits,
the DM prevents one or two styles from
standing out as being substantially more
powerful or effective than all other selfdefense systems. This encourages players
to explore a diversity of martial-arts systems before choosing the style to be studied by the player?s character. Characters
who learn different martial-arts styles add
greater variety to the campaign and keep
martial-arts combat from becoming too
repetitive or predictable.

Not only does the guide table help keep
martial-arts systems balanced in the campaign, it also expands the range of possibilities by allowing for two new offensive
combinations. In all, balance and diversity
both benefit, helping to keep the martial
arts an ever-interesting part of an AD&D
Oriental Adventures  campaign.